Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PERFECTED TWIN-SCREW PUMP, PARTICULARLY SUITABLE FOR
THE PUMPING OF BIPHASE FLUIDS IN A SUBMARINE
ENVIRONMENT.
The present invention relates to a twin-screw pump
which, by guaranteeing feedings by suction at the two
ends of the pump which are always perfectly the same in
gas content, as well as sealing between the screws and
wall of the pumping chamber of the pump body, also in
the transient pumping phase of gas alone, ensures the
efficient and safe pumping of a biphase fluid even when
the pump is in a vertical position, making it
particularly suitable for submarine applications.
As is known, a screw pump is basically a rotating
pump in which the positive mechanical movement of the
fluid, generally a liquid, from the suction to the
delivery, is obtained along a conical cavity created by
the in gear of a pair of conical screws firmly geared
to each other and with a synchronized movement, the
seal between the teeth of the two screws and the wall
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of the pumping chamber of the pump body being ensured
by a film of the centrifuged liquid itself.,In order to
balance the axial thrusts created by the movement of
the fluid, according to a preferential embodiment of
the art, the so-called "twin-screw pump" is used, i.e.
a pump with a double pair of synchronized conical
screws, co-axially connected in series to each other
and equipped with opposite propellers. In this pump, in
fact, the single suction is subdivided, inside the pump
body, into two feedings of the two opposite ends of the
pump and consequently, owing to the opposite threads of
the two pairs of screws, there are two fluid streams,
in opposite directions, towards the central zone or the
delivery zone of the pump, which create an equilibrium
in the force of the axial thrust.
This type of pump is generally used horizontally,
i.e. with the axis of symmetry of the pumpihorizontally
arranged, and has a high efficiency, which increases
with the constructive and assembly precision of the
pump.
On the other hand, this known pump, in the pumping
of liquids, can also be used vertically, which, as is
known, is the best and most congenial position for a
submarine installation of a pump.
At present, however, there is a great request for
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a pump which is capable of functioning efficiently with
biphase mixtures of liquid and gas, for use on the sea
floor for the direct pumping of offshore oil wells,
without the help of costly platforms.
This twin-screw pump is already intrinsically
capable of pumping not only liquids but also biphase
mixtures of liquid and gas.
In this particular application however, it can
inevitably only be positioned horizontally as a
vertical position would create a distinct division of
the mixture and the liquid, because of gravity, would
settle at the lower feeding end of the pump and the gas
on the other hand would settle at the upper feeding end
of the pump, with the result that the upper pair of
screws, in contact only with the gas and therefore not
cooled by the liquid, would become overheated and would
grip.
In addition, the above known pump, also in a
horizontal position, can in no way function in the
presence of gas alone, as often happens in oil wells,
as the absence of a liquid phase which, as already
mentioned, determines the centrifuged liquid film seal,
prejudices the seal itself in correspondence with the
screws and the pump is deactivated and stops
functioning.
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Attempts have been made to overcome this latter
drawback using tricks such as providing the delivery of
the pump with a liquid seal generator of the liquid
phase which accumulates the liquid to be used for
maintaining or creating a liquid seal, but not even
this solution has completely solved the problem in the
presence of very high vacuum fractions, vacuum fraction
meaning the ratio between the quantity of gas present
in the mixture and the quantity of mixture aspirated.
The object of the present invention is to overcome
the above drawbacks and consequently to provide a screw
pump, of the twin-screw type, which functions perfectly
in a vertical position, in the biphase field of liquid-
gas mixtures, even in the absence of a liquid phase.
This is basically achieved by the fact that the
feeding of the two opposite ends, upper and lower, of
the pump or feeding mouths is carried out separately by
means of a stream divider placed between the single
suction pipe and said feeding mouths and by the fact
that the screw shafts are equipped with a central axial
drilling which connects between them and the delivery
mouth of the pump a series of radial channels which end
up on the tips of the single teeth.
This in fact guarantees that the two feeding
mouths of the pump are always supplied with quantities
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of fluid which are perfectly equal in gas content, even
when the pump is in a vertical position,.and that a
minimum quantity of liquid stored in the liquid seal
generator of the liquid phase, situated on the delivery
mouth, pushed by the delivery pressure inside the
central drilling and channels, creates an effective
liquid seal which also allows the pumping of the
gaseous phase alone.
In short, the twin-screw pump, comprising a
suction pipe of the fluid which is connected to two
feeding mouths of the fluid placed respectively at the
two ends of a twin pair of conical screws, the screws
of each pair being interlocked and their shafts co-
axially connected in series with those of the other
pair, wherein the screws rotate in synchronism, by
means of a motor, inside a pumping chamber and the
propeller of one pair is opposite to thatiof the other
pair so as to convey the streams from the feeding
mouths into the centre of the pumping chamber where
there is a delivery chamber whose mouth is connected to
a liquid seal generator of the liquid phase, is
characterized, according to the present invention, by
the fact that the twin pair of conical screws is in a
vertical position, the suction pipe of the fluid is
connected to the two feeding mouths of the fluid, with
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separate pipes, by means of a stream divider and each
of the two shafts of the twin pair of conical screws is
equipped with a central axial drilling connecting
between them and the delivery chamber a series of
radial channels which end up on the tips of the single
teeth of the conical screws.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, the stream divider consists of a horizontal
expansion/separation barrel, connected on one side to
the suction pipe and equipped longitudinally, half way
down, with a vertical internal dividing wall creating
two equal chambers which are connected respectively, on
the other side of the barrel, to the two feeding mouths
of the fluid in the pump.
In this way, in fact, the separation takes place
in the barrel of the phases of the biphase mixture
supplied by the suction pipe, with the ga~ settling in
the upper part of the barrel and the liquid settling in
the lower part; on the other side the dividing wall
perfectly subdivides the mixture into two equal parts,
thus guaranteeing that the feeding mouths of the pump
are supplied with an equal composition of fluid, even
if arranged at different heights.
The invention can be better explained with
reference to the enclosed drawings which describe a
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preferred practical embodiment which is purely
illustrative and not limiting as technical or
constructive variations can be applied which still
remain within the scope of the present invention.
In these drawings:
Fig.l shows a partial sectional frontal view of a twin-
screw pump according to the invention;
Fig. 2 is a lateral section view of the stream divider
in agreement with the invention, according to line A-A
l0 of Fig. 1.
With reference to the Figures, 1 indicates the
vertical pump body, basically cylindrically-shaped,
which is closed at the bottom by the lubricating oil
tank 2 and at the top by the electric motor 3, with a
possible reducer. The motor 3 makes the twin pair of
conical screws, 4 and 5 respectively, vertically
arranged, rotate inside a pumping chamber 6 which is
also vertical and bordered by the cylindrical wall 7
co-axially arranged inside the pump body 1. The conical
20 screws 8 and 9 of the upper pair of screws 4 are
interlocked and their shafts 10 and 11 are co-axially
connected in series with the corresponding shafts 12
and 13 of the other lower pair of screws 5, whose
conical screws 14 and 15 are also interlocked. The
propeller of the upper pair of screws 4 is opposite to
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that of the lower pair of screws 5 in order, as can be
clearly seen in Fig. 1, to convey both the streams,
from the upper end of the pumping chamber or upper
feeding mouth 16 and from the lower end or lower
feeding mouth 17 respectively, towards the centre 18 of
the pumping chamber 6. This centre 18 communicates, by
means of inlets 19 and 20 situated in the cylindrical
wall 7, with a delivery chamber 21 whose delivery mouth
22, situated in the pump body 1, is connected, by means
of pipe 23, to a liquid seal generator of the liquid
phase 24. This generator 24 is basically an upward
defletor tube of the stream 25, which maintains a
liquid seal 27 on the bottom 26. The delivery chamber
21 then describes, between the pump body 1 and external
wall of the pumping chamber 6, an upper chamber 28
communicating with the upper feeding mouth 16 and a
lower chamber 29 communicating with the dower feeding
mouth 17. The chamber 28, communicates with the chamber
32, by means of inlet 30 situated in the pump body 1
and pipe 31, of a stream divider 33, consisting of a
horizontal expansion/separation barrel 34, connected to
the suction pipe 35. The horizontal barrel 34 is
internally equipped, half-way down, with a longitudinal
dividing wall 36 which equally divides the chamber 32
from the chamber 37 which is connected to the lower
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chamber 29 by means of pipe 38 and inlet 39 situated in
the pump body 1.
Finally, the two shafts 10,12 and 11,13 are each
equipped with a central drilling, 40 and 41
respectively, which communicates with the centre 18 and
therefore with the liquid seal 27 of the generator 24,
and is equipped with a series of radial channels 42
which end up on the tip of the single teeth of the
conical screws.
